When I was growing up, there was a very certain lack of coffee in our homestead. I don’t think it ever occured to my grandmother to invest in a coffee percolator or any other kind of coffee brewing device. We had tea only. I cannot recall the shape or colour…

I carried out a very big favour for an ancient relative recently. She was desperately wanting to visit her son in a very big and famous teaching hospital some way off from she lives. However, she so wanted to go and visit, she was almost crying down the phone, so…

I’ve been hiring out my house and hound sitting services lately. It’s such fun – I get to visit all kinds of homes and sometimes I stay over for the duration of the owners’ trip. It is cheaper for them to have someone stay over than to book two dogs…

When I was the personal private secretary to a very important chappie in the field of law, a few years ago, he tried to ingratiate himself with his new colleagues by providing a neat little coffee pod machine. As it happened, he was just about the only person to actually…

I have been amazed at the take up of coffee machinery in local houses – when I first moved here some years ago, it was the thing to have a filter coffee machine, some folk clung on to their beloved coffee percolators, which were the smart forerunner. They smelt fabulous…

One of the most interesting things about spending holidays with someone you used to work with but haven’t seen for many years – is how they seem to change and take on really surprising characteristics. For example, a chum who, for all the years we worked together back here in…

When we go out to local towns for shopping trips, it is all too easy to slip in to the habit of going in to the really big coffee emporiums – the ones with fancy logos and incredibly high prices. Once you do this once, maybe to fill an odd…

As I sit here contemplating whether I can justify a break in the work to avail myself of another cup of refreshingly delicious coffee, I am reminded of an episode recently at a heritage house where I help as a room steward. There was a fund raising event elsewhere on…

There’s something special about doing a little free work for a good cause. We call it volunteering of course, but for some folk this word is too emotive. Reminds them of wars and women trundling around a tea urn and making people be cheerful when they don’t feel it! I…

I have recently got involved at committee stage activities with two completely separate organisations. We are all volunteers, giving our time and energy for free, expecting not much back by way of recognition or thanks usually. However, I have been doubly surprised ad thrilled that one of the groups has…